A Nissan GT-R has been caught circulating the Nürburgring wearing only minimal camouflage but with, perhaps, a few major changes under the hood of this four-wheel-drive speed demon. As habits go, Nissan's near constant tweaking of the GT-R is one of the best. Each year brings with it another round of visual and mechanical improvements, with the aim nearly always being another step forward in performance and power. Its been suggested that the 2014 GT-R could take one of its biggest steps ever, with output from the turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6 jumping from its current tune of 545-bhp, to somewhere in the region of 600-bhp. This could also mean the next GT-R breaches the $100,000 pricing barrier – the 2013 model is already knocking on the door, with a base price of approximately $96,000.

We doubt any GT-R customers are going to mind the bump in price, especially if Nissan can eek out those extra ponies. Based on the test car spotted at the `Ring, it appears any exterior modifications are going to be extremely subtle, or they're simply not fitted to this specific model. Tape on the front fascia suggests the front grille could be altered but, for the moment, this test car appears identical to the 2013 model year. Don't be surprised if the next GT-R goes through a modest diet, to trim down its 3,825 lb. curb weight. Much of that poundage is due to the GT-R's incredible arsenal of high-tech hardware, including ATTESA ET-S four-wheel-drive, adaptive sport suspension, and dual-clutch automatic (with manual controls).

In its current guise, the GT-R is already one of the fastest accelerating vehicles we've ever tested. We pitted a 2012 GT-R against a Porsche 911 Turbo S and Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport. Okay, the $2.6-million Bugatti won the 0 to 60 mph sprint with a mind-boggling time of 2.52 seconds. But the GT-R was barely a half second behind, and actually had an edge up to about 45 mph. With another 50 or so extra horsepower, and a few aerodynamic changes, the 2014 GT-R could be set for one almighty rematch.